1. Field
The devices and methods described below relate to skateboarding shoes and particularly to the design of the sole of skateboarding shoes.
2. Related Art
A skateboard is controlled primarily through the rider's feet. Greater control of a skateboard may be provided by appropriate footwear and allow the rider to perform more skateboard tricks, such as ollies, kickflips, and crooks, with a greater degree of mastery. Any shoe designed for use during skateboarding should be designed to allow flexibility of the rider's feet while appropriately gripping the skateboard. In other words, the shoe should be designed to account for the required flexibility used by a skateboard rider to control the skateboard. In addition, the shoe should be designed to provide the rider with comfort and a better grip of the skateboard.
Presently, the outsoles of skateboard shoes have a unitary design that allows little flexibility and movement. Outsoles are manufactured as a single unitary component from a single material such as a polymer. Outsoles may also be manufactured from several different materials bonded together to form a unitary structure. What is needed is a skateboard shoe with a segmented midsole and outsole that provides greater flexibility to the rider. The skateboard shoes described below have a structure that provides appropriate flexibility and grip between the shoe and a skateboard to allow a rider to perform skateboard tricks.